Investigative reports question spending of Olympics-related business
State auditors are looking into money spent by the U.S. Performance Center, which received state money to attract sports governing bodies
The following article appeared in the August 12, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
N.C. is looking into spending by the Charlotte-based U.S. Performance Center and its related nonprofit, which collected $55M in state money, two investigative reports say
Members of the USA field hockey team train at the U.S. Performance Center in Charlotte. (Travis Dove for The Assembly; republished with permission)
A Charlotte company that received tens of millions of dollars in state money to help attract Olympic athletes and sports governing bodies to the Charlotte region is coming under scrutiny for its spending.
Two investigative articles published last week — by the statewide digital magazine The Assembly and by the News & Observer of Raleigh — suggest that the for-profit U.S. Performance Center and its associated nonprofit, the N.C. Sports Legacy Foundation, collected $55 million allocated by the General Assembly in the last few years — and spent a lot of the money on consulting fees instead of capital expenses, with minimal accomplishments to point to.
State auditors are now examining how the small company, which has stayed mostly under the radar, spent the state money, the publications reported.
The company was founded in 2012 by Ike Belk, a member of the prominent Belk department store family, and David Koerner, who ran a south Charlotte sports rehabilitation clinic.
The Assembly reported that the U.S. Performance Center, which takes a “science-based approach to create innovative and highly specialized training programs,” had hoped to attract Olympic sport governing bodies to the Charlotte area, which could be a step toward Charlotte eventually hosting the summer Olympics.
The article continued:
Some leading North Carolina legislators bought into the dream. In 2021, they allocated $25 million in public funds “for capital needs” to the U.S. Performance Center to lure national governing bodies to Charlotte. Two years later, legislators provided another $30 million to the North Carolina Sports Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit Belk founded, for the same purpose.
USPC and the nonprofit have spent $45.5 million of the $55 million as of June, according to documents provided to The Assembly from the Office of State Budget and Management.
While the state money was supposed to fund capital needs, only about $10 million has paid to build facilities or buy equipment. Roughly $7 million went to the Robeson County-based construction firm Metcon, which built a field hockey pitch at UNC Charlotte in hopes of attracting the sport’s governing body from Colorado. Another $3 million was spent on sports equipment or for repairs, such as $1.4 million for custom Keiser fitness machines and $427,000 to a Wisconsin treadmill company.
The rest of the money was spent on other purposes, the documents show. USPC has charged more than $9.8 million for its own consulting services to the nonprofit and has spent $2.9 million on salaries and benefits, including $800,000 to Belk and Koerner in two years.
More than $4 million was spent on “services rendered to Olympic teams” and another $1.6 million for “USPC Olympic Services.” More than $4.5 million went to outside consultants.
While dozens of U.S. athletes train in Charlotte, no governing body has moved here, The Assembly reported.
A company spokesman told the publication that the USPC has hosted more than 200 athletic tournaments, bringing hundreds of thousands of visitors here, and that it has “achieved the required benchmarks of success.” It is also a finalist to host the 2027 Military World Games in Charlotte, he said, which are like the Olympics for members of the military.
In an article published a day after The Assembly’s, the News & Observer looked at the spending from a more political angle, noting that hundreds of thousands of dollars in the USPC’s consulting contracts went to people with strong ties to state Republicans. The GOP controls the General Assembly, which approved the money.
The N&O found that the expenses included:
$67,000 for hotels, including $1,300 to a Ritz Carlton
$55,000 to pay vehicle loans
$34,000 for meals and entertainment
$13,000 for late taxes and penalties to the Internal Revenue Service
The USPC is also working to develop a $6M bobsled training center on UNC Charlotte’s campus.
The state budget office says a review of the company’s expenses should be finished by the end of September. —TM
➡️ Read the full article from The Assembly.
Related Ledger article:
“Effort to land Olympic teams gets boost from state budget; details still mysterious” (Dec. 1, 2021)
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You might check out The Assembly
If you haven’t heard of The Assembly, you might give it a look. It’s a statewide digital magazine that leans heavily into investigations and long-form journalism. The Ledger and The Assembly are kindred spirits — we both believe that North Carolina deserves better sources of independent information, giving readers insights they cannot find elsewhere. The Assembly aims to publish “deep reporting about power and place in North Carolina.”
We’ve teamed up with The Assembly in the past, and we’re working on some projects with their team now that we’re looking forward to announcing soon.
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